Ricciardo could be in pole position ... next year

Daniel Ricciardo has done what he needed to do - cement himself firmly as Sebastian Vettel's equal and get in pole position for a championship win if Red Bull returns to the top of the field next year, writes Michael Janda.

He's the vulture of the 2014 Formula One season, but Daniel Ricciardo could be next year's eagle.

This year, all that has been available to the rest of the field has been the scraps left over when Mercedes make a mistake.

But every time both drivers sporting the three-pointed star slip up, it is the 25-year-old Australian - not his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel - who is there circling, ready to scavenge the spoils.

Ricciardo made it three wins out of the past six races last weekend, when second-lap contact between the championship leading Mercedes teammates put Lewis Hamilton a minute down, and ultimately out of the race, and cost Nico Rosberg 10 seconds to change a damaged wing, and dozens more lost seconds stuck behind slower cars.

What has the F1 paddock talking in glowing terms about Ricciardo, though, is that he keeps putting himself first in line to capitalise when Mercedes' warring drivers present an opening.

In Sunday's Belgian grand prix, Ricciardo started fifth (after skill and courage saved his qualifying session from ending in the wall on Saturday) - yet, after dispatching two-time world champion Fernando Alonso on lap four, Ricciardo cruised past Vettel the next lap after his Red Bull teammate made what over the last few years would have been an uncharacteristic error, but that have been noticeably more frequent this season.

In his Hungarian victory, Ricciardo again started behind his teammate, and fought his way to the front - albeit helped by a fortuitously timed safety car deployment.

Ricciardo's maiden win in Canada was similarly assisted by a bit of fortune about his track placement, and perhaps a poor decision by Red Bull in Vettel's pit stop timing, but he still had to pull off several skilful passes to grab the win as both Mercedes fell victim to mechanical problems to different degrees.

Most impressive in the latest win, unlike his first two, is that the young Australian led for most of the race, showing the maturity and concentration to maintain his lap pace at the precise level required to hold off Rosberg's charging Merc while eking out the life in his aging tyres to get them to the finish.

No number two driver

After this recent run of success, it is easy to forget that Ricciardo's impressive debut for Red Bull - second place at his home Australian grand prix - was cruelly snatched from him by a disqualification for breaching fuel flow rules - a breach his team insists was solely down to a faulty fuel flow meter.

At that point in time, it looked as though Ricciardo might be destined to follow in the footsteps of his Aussie Red Bull predecessor Mark Webber, of whom it was often quipped that if he didn't have bad luck he'd have no luck at all.

However, to his credit, Ricciardo brushed aside that early disappointment, kept his Red Bull fast and on the track and has reaped the rewards, and perhaps also a bit of good karma.

More importantly when driving in the same team as a four-time champion and undisputed great of the sport, Ricciardo has convincingly shown he is no number two driver, a role Webber often felt relegated to.

Despite failing to score points in the first two rounds through no fault of his own, Ricciardo has outscored his teammate 156 points to 98 after a dozen races.

In the eight races that both Red Bull drivers have finished, Ricciardo has finished ahead on all but one occasion.

The young Aussie has also shown up the German at his own specialty - the ability to put down an ultra-quick lap at the decisive moment in qualifying. Ricciardo leads that battle seven to five.

Championship chance

With the stoush between the Mercedes drivers having now escalated to open war, and double points on offer in the season ending grand prix, there is even talk on fan websites of the Aussie as a dark horse contender for one of the most unlikely championship wins in F1 history.

"Today was a big day for that. To come and steal some points on a circuit where we weren't supposed to is nice, but I think what's important, looking ahead, is to capitalise on the circuits that we should be strong on and if we can take maximum points at a couple of those then it's never over."

With just seven races to go, even with 50 points on offer in the last race in Abu Dhabi, it looks a near-impossible task to overhaul Rosberg's 64-point lead.

Even with an equally fast car, Rosberg's Mercedes teammate Hamilton must be daunted by the task he faces in closing a 29-point deficit.

But there's no way that Hamilton will give up and now that Rosberg has made first contact it's all but certain the Brit known for his assertive (many would say aggressive) driving will give no quarter and more incidents may result.

That gives Ricciardo the slimmest chance to win the championship the same way he has won three races this year, by being the fastest man still standing.

The real excitement for Australian F1 fans may come next year, though, if Renault can find more horsepower to match the Mercedes powerplant.

Under F1's new rules, the engine designs were all but locked in at the start of the season, meaning Red Bull's supplier hasn't been able to tweak much to try to catch up with Mercedes' innovative and very effective 2014 design.

However, it's likely the other engine producers will have learnt a trick or two from the Merc's dominant powerplant, reducing or erasing the horsepower gap next year.

It's widely believed that the Red Bull is still aerodynamically superior to anything else in the field - a superiority illustrated by the fact that the team could basically take half its rear wing off to cut straight-line drag and raise top speed at the fast Spa circuit, yet still keep the car on the tarmac (most of the time).

For this year, Ricciardo has done what he needed to do - cement himself firmly as Sebastian Vettel's equal - which puts the Aussie in pole position for a championship win if Red Bull does return to the top of the field in season 2015.

Michael Janda is an online business reporter with the ABC. View his full profile here.

tel:

26 Aug 2014 4:50:38pm

Drivers that used three stop race strategies; Rosberg,Vettel, Massa,Sutil. Hamilton and Grojean only did one lap on their first set .The rest of the field stop twice. But yes Ricciardo tyre management has been outstanding all year

jack44:

26 Aug 2014 8:49:37am

I have a lot of admiration for Ricciardo, and on multiple levels.

a) He doesn't seem to be the type who would pass his team-mate when specifically ordered by the team not to do it. And I very much doubt he would add insult to injury after the race by proclaiming that his team mate "didn't deserve to win".

b) Unlike the Silver Arrows, he actually talks to the team with a grin. Very revolutionary.

custard:

gnome:

26 Aug 2014 9:02:00am

Any race 'amilton loses is a good race, just ask his former teammates Button and Alonso, if you won't believe Rosberg.

At last Australia has a true champion to support again. Weber was just an OK driver with a good strategist and, in his last few years, a good car. Good onya Daniel. If either Rosberg or Ricciardo win it's a great result.

F1 Nut:

26 Aug 2014 2:42:30pm

Neither of Lewis's team mates; Jenson Button or Fernando Alonso have ever expressed anything except comraderie and admiration for Lewis. You are making this up as you obviously don't like Hamilton for some reason.

Dave:

26 Aug 2014 3:06:24pm

F1 needs its bad guys and its inevitably those with precocious talent who are also precocious characters at times.

Hamilton might be a difficult bloke to share an office with but his overtaking skill was one of few reasons to watch F1 for several seasons. By all means barrack against him but the simple fact you're doing that shows that he's great for the sport.

stalga:

27 Aug 2014 12:54:51am

The last Brit with an aggressive reputation was Nigel Mansell, he was lauded for it. Rosberg is so aggressive he has deliberately 'crashed' his car into his team mate. This rivalry has been interesting so far, but took an ugly turn at Spa. An early error from the Merc drivers was always on the cards, given the number of slides they both had in qualifying. Both drivers right on the limit before the race even started. Hamilton is the king of aggressive driving, Rosberg should not be playing him at his game. The winner on the weekend was the circuit.

Riccardo hasn't just won his third GP, he has won at Spa, the drivers circuit!

Asininedrivel:

26 Aug 2014 9:15:19am

Something also missed in the main text, but Ricciardo has also succeeded on an intangible level, by humbling one of the least likeable F1 Champions (in his team mate) in living memory. So so great to see the parochial hype behind him at the start of the season had real substance to back it up. Go Ricciardo!

Stuffed Olive:

Alison Cann:

26 Aug 2014 10:08:22am

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo, has done what he needed to do at the wheel, turn himself into the equal of Sebastian Vettel and get a pole position for a team win. Then next year Red Bull has a chance of returning to the top of the field.

Reinhard:

26 Aug 2014 11:01:25am

There's a saying in motorsport, the first driver you have to beat is your teammate and the fact that Ricciardo is regularly faster than teammate and 4 times world champion Sebastian Vettel in both qualifying and the race shows that he has what it takes to be a future multiple World Champion. We may need to wait until Mercedes domination ends but it will be well worth it , he has the ability to manage his tyres better than anyone and when he set his best lap of the race on the last lap he showed he had outfoxed Mercedes and still had plenty in reserve ..Bravo Daniel on a brilliant drive!

Pegaso:

26 Aug 2014 11:54:18pm

Vettel has been shown to not be the driver people thought he was.He has been unable to drive a car requiring more driver skill and input than the previous cars he was used to.These cars have different power delivery characteristics, less downforce.Ricciardo on the other hand has transitioned very well.I recall a time in Formula One when drivers drove every thing from touring cars, sports cars and formula cars.This was in the time of Fangio, Moss, Brabham,Hawthorn,when cars didnt have driver aids ,were unsafe by todays standards.More driver skills were required.

Ethan H:

26 Aug 2014 11:47:38am

When Webber retired at the end of last season I thought that was the end of great Australian racers for a while. Ricciardo had shown good pace in the less of the Red Bull cars but lets not forget he was up against Kimi for the seat right up to the end with talk of Alonso and Hamilton looking as well.

How a season changes things ... he has shown he has the right stuff to be a true champion, he has not been jaded by his rise and demonstrates maturity and what is so uncommon in F1, gratitude that he has been able to do what he has. He is as humble as he is talented and for that he deserves to be the best.

No number 2? He is number 1 in the Red Bull camp ... lets hope Mercedes pair do what they are best at, arrogance and stupidity and our boy Ricciardo is there to pick up the best of the rest placings only because his car is inferior to the Mercedes at the moment. How well would he have done in a car similar to the one Vettle had last year and the year before and the year before.

No mentioned anywhere about the comparison to Vettle and Webber when it comes to Hamilton and Rosberg. Webber always believed he was number 2 in the team, had all the issues with his car whilst Vettle sailed on through and the times he was in front, thinking Turkish GP Vettle crashed into him doing a stupid overtake or did an over take when he was told to hold position and Webber to turn his engine down.

Seems to me Rosberg has the same mentality and its not going to end good for Hamilton this year ... if Rosberg does become world champion ... next year will be worse.

Go Daniel, you are the true champion of the 2014 championship and I wish you all the best for the rest of the season.

gnome:

26 Aug 2014 4:47:18pm

Webber always was No2. He never had what it takes to be a "great Australian racer". It was ludicrous when some TV show had him voted in Australia's top 100 sportsmen ahead of Jack Brabham. Short memories as well as pathetic chauvinism.

I can't figure what the little people here have against either Vettel or Rosberg, but pathetic chauvinism springs to mind again, particularly when they laud a sanctimonious little creep, presumably because he's "british". Rosberg swallowed the humiliation of staying behind 'amilton last year on team orders and probably swore "never again". It's good enough for the commentators we get on TV, but it isn't sport.

I suggest those waving the Union Jack in the paddock are doing it for Jensen Button, not the other pom in the race.

F1 Nut:

26 Aug 2014 2:38:35pm

Daniel's Disqualification in Melbourne was not down to a faulty flow meter, but to Red Bull ignoring specific FIA instructions by using their own calculations to determine fuel flow. They cynically tested the water by using it on Daniel's car not their (then) No. 1 driver's car - just in case. Inevitably Daniel was disqualified not for using excessive peak fuel consumption, but for breaching the rules. Red Bull were given multiple warnings, which they ignored. Cruel for Daniel who drove a great race.

Watcher:

26 Aug 2014 3:48:15pm

Ricciardo is a nice guy and breath of fresh air in the sport.

What I want to know is how Vettle went from easily being the best guy out on the track to consistently being the second best driver at Red Bull. The reason he was so successful when he won the Championship is because he took the cleanest lines around each circuit and subsequently nursed the car with minimum tyre wear (unlike Webber who took too sharp a line through the corners).

Think about it:

26 Aug 2014 10:29:26pm

Vettel may never have been as good as we thought. He's only driven in one F1 team. Could it be that the Red Bull car was most of the reason for his success? That would make Webber look even worse than we thought...

That said, Ricciardo is impressive, and continues to surprise with his rapid improvement.

wheel nut:

26 Aug 2014 5:40:57pm

Correct, Red Bull were testing out the FIA by using their own flow meter when the FIA supplied all the teams with unreliable meters. Red Bull thought that they could prove his car did not exceed the regulated flow rate and overlooked the fact that the governing body could not afford to be embarrassed if it was to maintain its authority. The FIA should have penalised the team, not the driver by taking away manufacturers points and maintaining driver points, but that of course required a regulation change - Catch 22.

F1 Nut:

26 Aug 2014 7:21:55pm

I'm sorry wheelnut, you know nothing about the fuel flow system. The flowmeters are extremely reliable and are used not only in F1 but in the World Rally Championship cars too. All are certified and calibrated. The Renault engine could only produce the power RBR wanted if it exceeded the maximum permitted fuel flow during times of high throttle input. They did not have their own flowmeters, but relied on calculations from the fuel injectors to work out the fuel flow. This did not correspond to the official flow meter that all cars used, they asked for and got the device changed twice but decided during the race to ignore the official flowmeter and turn up the engine to use their own calcualtions to regulate maximum fuel flow. This was not acceptable to the FIA. The fuel flow meter worked as usual and provided the data to the FIA during the race. The FIA warned RBR twice during the race, which Christan Horner ignored and hence the car was disqualified as it was clearly using too much fuel at peak demand which gave it an unfair advantage over the other cars that were following the rules.

RogerD:

27 Aug 2014 12:08:19am

RBR asserted that Ricciardo's fuel flow sensor failed during the race. RBR's definition of 'failed' is that the official sensor readings did not match those of their own metering arrangement - a calibrated fuel rail. They chose to trust their own system for the duration of the race.The sticking point for RBR was that they hadn't calibrated their own system against an official standard, so their back-up system was deemed illegal.Turns out that there was a problem with the fuel flow sensors - they were installed incorrectly. So FIA / Gill told RBR to RTFM.

wheel nut:

26 Aug 2014 5:52:21pm

To be fair to Vettel his season has equally been dogged by bad luck as his inability to master the beast in the 2014 Red Bull; so much so that it produced the wittiest comment of the season by the race commentator "Vettel should give Mark Webber back his car"

Kenny:

26 Aug 2014 8:18:24pm

You are assuming Michael, that Daniel Ricciardo will be racing at Red Bull next year ? Dan is on a one year contract with RBR in 2014 and after his stellar season thus far, must surely be in the sights of the McLaren/Honda 2015 driver line-up! Given the enormous difference between the RBR drivers pay-packets - Vettel pockets 29 times what Dan is being paid, I am not sure RBR could match an offer from McLaren/Honda who are desperately in need of a race winner for next season!

MD:

27 Aug 2014 7:57:56am

They're desperately in need of a race-winning car! Not much point in following money there if your F1 career stagnates and your chances of a championship evaporate. Red Bull have much, much deeper pockets than McLaren.

rancid remarks:

27 Aug 2014 12:52:22pm

Hamilton is a sooky lah lah, If he isn't winning or things are not going his way he wants to stop and go home with his thumb in his mouth.The idea in F1 is to race, no matter where you are in the field, Hamilton hasn't got what it takes to be a good racing car driver, it's called guts and determination, our Daniel has an abundance of these qualities.

Not Related:

27 Aug 2014 3:42:38pm

@ rancid remarks: "The idea in F1 is to race no matter where you are in the field, Hamilton hasn't got what it takes to be a good racing car driver, it's called guts and determination."Have you been paying attention this season? Hamilton has had to overcome power issues, a brake failure which sent him into wall a during qualifying in Germany and starting last on the grid in Hungary after his car CAUGHT FIRE around him. Headlines proclaimed his race was over before it began. Someone forgot to tell Hamilton - the first driver to start from last place and finish on the podium in thirty years.I'd say he's demonstrated he got the guts, determination and talent to boot. The season isn't over yet - Let's go racing.